tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5967476903991259470.post5526087200940047808..comments2024-03-25T16:59:28.263-04:00Comments on Works Cited: And... yet another person who has not done the reading.Nataliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07898457401179147102noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5967476903991259470.post-70875521109914290432019-01-29T10:01:53.956-05:002019-01-29T10:01:53.956-05:00I am very glad to find this blog post. Am currentl...I am very glad to find this blog post. Am currently reading Gottschall's work for the first time and it is so frequently sexist in its glib comments and generalisations about men and women! Surely, I thought, I cannot be alone in thinking this! His seeming inability to interrogate/unpick the blanket social and cultural assumptions and terminology he discusses is quite astounding.Rosy Carrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07775685623902633544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5967476903991259470.post-10110230160748727002008-12-18T15:59:00.000-05:002008-12-18T15:59:00.000-05:00I concede that Gottschall has met my incredibly mi...I concede that Gottschall has met my incredibly minimal condition. And I agree that it was a rhetorical error to point out how little the scholars you mention represent the mainstream of literary criticism; the disciplinary affiliations of these particular scholars is beside the point. <BR/><BR/>The real issue is that "Is western culture <EM>especially</EM> sexist, where 'sexist' is defined by telling stories wherein women are described primarily in terms of their physical attributes?" is not a relevant question in literary studies, nor, to my knowledge, in any discipline.Nataliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07898457401179147102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5967476903991259470.post-47370320427696218492008-12-12T03:55:00.000-05:002008-12-12T03:55:00.000-05:00Although it’s not the most important point, I’m mo...Although it’s not the most important point, I’m moved to ask: In our beautiful interdisciplinary world, why the sudden closing of ranks? Surely, just as we frequently use perspectives from philosophy, so we can be open to the idea that literary critique performed by people from other (closely related) disciplines such as philosophy and religious studies can be useful? Certainly I'm troubled by your arguing that these people are irrelevant simply because their formal affiliation is not with a Literature department: authority-figure thinking at its worst. Brownmiller is quoted all over the shop, so your statement on her is particularly disingenuous. Would you deny the right of a critic to cite Lacan, Kristeva, Derrida, Irigaray?<BR/><BR/>More importantly, why the distinction between folklore and literature? Gottschall’s project deals with stories from many cultures around the world: how could he exclude folklorists from his discussion? Moreover, what would you think of a study that purpoerted to look at world literature but cited only Western literary academics (since that seems to be the standard you are aiming for)? Gottschall’s project specifically denies such a Eurocentric take on storytelling versus writing, giving us a level playing field on which to discuss all human works. Dangerous waters to say “THAT is merely folklore, while THIS is high art...”<BR/><BR/>While it’s true that one person’s “incorrect statement” could be another’s “hyperbole,” the fact is that you went on record as challenging Gottschall to find one critic to support his claims. Given that your title is “And... yet another person who has not done the reading” it seems more than a little ironic that I was able to prove very simply that you had not read the real work of the author you were criticising, and were relying on a popular newspaper article in dismissing it. <BR/><BR/>I suggest you read the original article, and Gottschall’s more recent work, in particular his new book. He spends most of a chapter dealing with why we can discuss a universal sexism without in any way promoting sexist ideas. Indeed (this is my own interjection), I don’t understand why denying reality – and the raw data in his methodology is available and does represent a reality, even if the algorithms can be challenged – would serve the cause of feminist ideals. If feminists make statements that are provably untrue, that does more to undermine the cause than any number of misogynists could hope.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5967476903991259470.post-66007265168525991872008-11-23T13:36:00.000-05:002008-11-23T13:36:00.000-05:00Simone de Beauvoir: Philosophy.Betty Friedan: Not ...Simone de Beauvoir: Philosophy.<BR/><BR/>Betty Friedan: Not an academic of any kind.<BR/><BR/>Jack Zipes: Folklorist (although I will agree that he also does strong literary criticism). <BR/><BR/>Karen Rowe: Ding! We have a literary critic. With an emphasis on folklore.<BR/><BR/>Madonna Kolbenschlag: Religious studies.<BR/><BR/>Cynthia Helms: I've never heard of her.<BR/><BR/>Mary Daly: Religious studies.<BR/><BR/>Susan Brownmiller: journalist.<BR/><BR/>Quite apart from the fact that several of these people aren't literary critics, the real point -- my "one example" comment was hyperbolic -- is that this hardly reveals a commonplace of literary criticism. <BR/><BR/>More importantly, it's not clear that the <EM>uniqueness</EM> of Western sexism is the important thing about it, especially for literary criticism. I suspect it's not.<BR/><BR/>And then that nagging question -- suppose Western society isn't uniquely sexist. What can we conclude from this? Gottschall seems to want to suggest that that would make sexism universal, and thence totally cool. <EM>Non sequitur</EM>, my friend.Nataliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07898457401179147102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5967476903991259470.post-34458049943007239522008-11-23T11:09:00.000-05:002008-11-23T11:09:00.000-05:00Hi - The critics that Gottschall cites in his scho...Hi - The critics that Gottschall cites in his scholarly article (not the newspaper one) are Simone de Beauvoir, Betty Friedan, Jack Zipes, Karen Rowe, Madonna Kolbenschlag, Cynthia Helms, Mary Daly and Susan Brownmiller. All of these claim that Western society is uniquely sexist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com